And instead of focusing too much on the ultimate sacrifice Christ paid yesterday or the joy of the Resurrection tomorrow, we need to be present in the waiting we experience today.
But we don't like to wait. That's why we have fast food, text messages, and would rather listen to our iPod than sit and be still, comfortable with silence.
Waiting.
That is what today is all about.
Waiting. Being still. Being silent. Hanging in the balance, being unsure.
It's confusing to sit and wait because we want to think that we are in control. But we're not. We can't raise Christ from the dead. In just the same way that Christ, through his self-emptying gift of himself, had to die to forgive our sins, Christ raises himself from the death to cleanse us of our sins and bring us into eternal life with the Lord.
Holy Saturday isn't about us. We are not in control. We have to let go and let God. And that means hanging in the balance and experiencing the tension between the despair we experienced yesterday and the hope we have for tomorrow.
And yet today IS about us. The disciples -- unable to understand yesterday's events and scared for their lives -- hid. They closed themselves off from the world and waited. And I'm not sure that's the right answer, either.
Tomorrow we'll see the women -- those who went out into the world and were brave enough to visit the tomb -- be rewarded with the first glimpse of the Resurrection. So our actions do matter and God does need our cooperation to do His work (we'll see this very clearly on Pentecost).
But for now, we wait. Today is about realizing we're not the ones in control. It's about trusting in God's plan -- even if we are confused, scared, or filled with doubt.
Today is about letting God be God.
Will you wait? Will you be still? Will you be silent?
Will you let God be God?
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